Lawn sprinkler nozzle



v Nov. 4, 1969 G. J. DYCK 3,476,322

LAWN SPRINKLER NOZZLE Filed April 13, 1967 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 FIG. 2

INVENTOR GERHARD J. DYCK ATTORNEYE NOV. 4, 1969 3, K 3,476,322

LAWN SPRINKLER NOZZLE Filed April 13, 1967 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG. 3

FIG. 7

3s 30 33 38 l l araw 38 FIG 6 INVENTOR 37 GERHARD J. DYCK ATTORNEYS:

United States Patent 3,476,322 LAWN SPRINKLER NOZZLE Gerhard J. Dyck,1306 13th St. E., Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada Filed Apr. 13, 1967,Ser. No. 630,634 Int. Cl. Bb 1/26 U.S. Cl. 239-515 12 Claims ABSTRACT OFTHE DISCLOSURE A lawn sprinkler nozzle comprising a casing having a fullclover-leaf or a partial clover-leaf shaped orifice and a deflectionhead integral with a valve stem which is mounted in the casing andextends through the orifice, the deflection head overlies the orificeand cooperates with the orifice to deflect the water coming through theorifice.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the invention This inventionrelates to spray devices and more particularly to improvements in lawnsprinkler nozzles.

Description of the prior art This invention is an improvement over theinvention described and claimed in applicants Uni-ted States Patent No.3,207,446, issued Sept. 21, 1965, entitled, Sprinkler Head for WaterSprinkling Systems.

The annular opening in a sprinkler nozzle has in the past been shapedapproximately the same as the outline of the water pattern which issought to be sprayed from the nozzle. For example, if a square waterpattern was desired there would be provided a substantially squareopening in the sprinkler nozzle. Also, this precise angular patterncould be maintained only within a narrow range of opening between thetop of the nozzle casing and the deflection head. If the opening isincreased the pattern will round out and if the opening is decreased thecorners will be accentuated.

Lawn sprinkler nozzles of the type to which this invention pertains nowon the market have one very serious drawback in that they sprinkle toomuch water per unit area per unit time. Very few of such nozzles, ifany, can sprinkle less than one inch of water per unit area per hour.This amount of waterfall cannot be tolerated on many types of soilbecause the soil may waterlog or erode. Also, most domestic watersystems have a rather limited capacity of water flow per minute whichlimits the area that can be sprinkled at one time through sprinklernozzles which distribute a high volume of water. For example, the waterinlet pipe to most Canadian city homes is three-quarter inch internaldiameter, providing a water flow of 7 to 9 gallons per minute at apressure of approximately 20 pounds per square inch. At one inch perhour of waterfall this would permit coverage of a lawn area of onlySOD-1,000 square feet.

In previous designs of sprinkler nozzles, the underside of thedeflection head of the nozzle has been formed as an annular surfacewhich is a surface of frusturns of right cones. Such surfaces aregenerally inclined at an acute angle to the horizontal of about 20 or30. These surfaces act as deflection surfaces for the fast flowing watercolumn rising through the nozzle. A small diameter column of waterstriking the underside of the deflection head will lose considerableradial velocity due to the surface friction. As a result, the range ofdeflected water and the area of lawn sprayed is less than the ideal.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In brief, the present invention is a sprinklernozzle for 3,476,322 Patented Nov. 4, 1969 sprinkling lawns with water.The sprinkler nozzles comprise a casing with a full clover-leaf orpartial clover-leaf shaped orifice in one end of the casing. A valvestem extends through the orifice and is mounted in the casing. Adeflection head is integral with the valve stem and overlies the end ofthe casing containing the orifice and cooperates with the orifice todeflect the water coming through the orifice.

It is an object of this invention to provide for use in a lawnsprinkling system a lawn sprinkler nozzle which will distribute lesswater per unit area per unit time.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a lawn sprinklernozzle having an orifice of improved configuration which willconcentrate maximum water volume against a deflection head having aminimum surface area against which the water can lose its radialvelocity.

It is a further object of this invention to provide for a sprinklernozzle a deflection head of such construction that the surface frictiondeveloped by the impinging water will be minimized, resulting inincreased radial velocity of water spray.

It is a further object of this invention to provide for a sprinklernozzle in which the opening between the top casing of the nozzle and thedeflection head may vary without in any way lessening the accuracy ofthe spray pattern.

These and other objects and advantages are apparent from the followingdescription taken with the accompanying figures of the drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view ofthe sprinkler nozzle of this invention;

FIG. 2 is a detail view in partial section taken along the line IIII ofFIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the deflection head of the sprinklernozzle of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of another embodiment of the deflectionhead for a sprinkler nozzle;

FIG. 5 is a plan view showing an alternative construction of an orifice;

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the orifice of FIG. 5 taken alongthe line VIVI;

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of a further embodiment of a sprinklernozzle.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS As illustrated in FIG. 1 thesprinkler nozzle 1 according to this invention comprises a casing 2 witha tapered portion 3 at one end thereof. An orifice 4 is formed in thetapered portion. A short tube 5 is fixed in the interior of the casing 2below the tapered portion 3 by any suitable means, such as by radialfins 6. A valve stem 7 including a deflection head 8 is mounted in theshort tube 5 so that an annular shoulder 9 of the valve stem 7 rests ona top edge 10 of the tube 5. The lower end 11 of the valve stem 7extends beneath the lower end of the tube 5 and is threaded to receive anut 12 to retain the deflection head in a fixed position in relation tothe orifice 4. The position of the nut 12 will control the amount of theopening between the top of the casing 2 and the deflection head 8. Thelarger the opening the larger the spray pattern that can be obtained.

The deflection head 8 is located in relation to the top of the casing 2so that a stream of water emerging from the orifice 4 contacts theundersurface 13 of the deflection head 8 and is deflected as shown 'bythe arrows A and B in FIG. 3.

The design of the orifice 4- is shown in FIG. 2. Four concavely curvedsurfaces 20a, 20b, 20c and 20d surround the top inner edge 21 of theorifice 4. Scalloped sides 22 are provided on the inner edges ofsurfaces 20a, 20b, 20c and 20d. The intersection of each of the edges ofthe scalloped sides forms a point 23 jutting inwardly towards the centerof the orifice.

Each scalloped side 22 is an arc of a circle having a lesser diameterthant he diameter of an imaginary circle, the circumference of whichtouches the four jutting points \23. Hereafter in this application anorifice of this design will be characterized as cloverleaf shapedorifice.

The points 23 only jut inwardly towards the center of the orifice adistance of approximately -10% of the diameter of an imaginary circlehaving a circumference which would pass through points C, D, E, and F.Therefore the orifice is an opening of almost circular crosssection.

The undersurface 13 of the deflection head 8 is composed of a conicalshaped undersurface 24 and an annular chamber 25. The annular chamber 25is formed around the valve stem 7 below the conical shaped undersurface24. When the water initially passes through the nozzle it emergesthrough the orifice 4 and fills this chamber 25. The Water filledchamber will then act as a deflecting surface, which serves to minimizeboth the turbulence and friction between the waterflow and thedeflecting surface.

The passage of water through an orifice possessing four points evenlyspaced as illustrated in FIG. 2 would result in a square spray pattern.The square pattern would be produced as follows:

The water column flowing through the clover-leaf orifice takes the shapeof the orifice with four depressions and four projections or crests. Onstriking the deflection surface the depressions and crests are deformedand fly radially outwards. As they are deformed adjacent crests Willcollide at the rnidline of the original depressions and form their owncrests to fly radially outwards and form the corners of a square spraypattern.

The number of points in the orifice will vary depending on the patternof the surface area of the lawn to be sprayed with water. The number ofjutting points need not necessarily be four as illustrated in FIG. 2.For example, the passage of water through an orifice possessing threepoints evenly spaced would result in a triangular spray pattern.

By using the clover-leaf shaped orifice, which is substantially circularit can be readily seen that area of the undersurface of the deflectionhead required to deflect the same column of water issuing through thenozzle is less than that required with a square orifice. The reasonbeing that the area of a circle transcribed in a square is less than thearea of the square itself. Due to the decreased area of the undersurfaceof the deflection head the friction between the deflection head and thedeflecting water is decreased and the deflected water will have moreradial velocity than would :be possible with a deflection head having alarger undersurface area. As a result a larger area of lawn will besprayed.

The clover-leaf shaped orifice also has the advantage over a completecircular orifice in that it sprays a square rather than a circularpattern. The square pattern avoids the overlapping of water spray whichis necessary if the same area is to be sprayed from water issuing from acircular orifice.

The clover-leaf shaped orifice also has the advantage that it canprovide a precise pattern even though the amount of the opening betweenthe top of the casing of the nozzle and the deflection head is variedfrom a small to a large opening.

FIG. 4 shows another embodiment of a deflection head 8' in which isprovided two concentric annular chambers 25' and 26. In this case thesecond chamber 26 also fills with water and gives an added reduction offriction. It has been found that the addition of a second annularchamber in the deflection head will increase the area of coverage andreduce misting.

FIGS. 5 and 6 illustrate an alternative form of construction for theorifice. The orifice 30 is formed in the upper end of the cylindricalcasing 32 with four concavely curved surfaces 33, 34, 35 and 36. Theconcavely curved surfaces are formed in the same manner as described andillustrated with respect to FIG. 2. However, in this embodiment the fourinwardly jutting points 37 of the orifice 30 are tapered ends of fourpins 38 inserted slightly through the casing 32. Each pin 38 is insertedin the casing 32 in such a manner that its point 37 is in line with theintersection of two concavely curved surfaces and parallel with the axisof the casing 32. Each of the four pins 38 are secured in place by a setscrew 39. When the orifice is constructed in this manner it is a simpleoperation to change the shape of the orifice and thus the spray pattern.When all the pins are retracted within the casing, the orifice is roundand the resulting spray pattern would also be round. By adjusting thepins various spray patterns may be obtained. For example, if two pinswere retracted and two pins left projecting into the annular opening inthe casing, a half round and a half spray pattern would result.

FIG. 7 illustrates a further variation in the spray nozzle of thisinvention. A nozzle of the type illustrated in FIG. 7 is adapted to beplaced at the edge of the lawn to provide a spray pattern from the edgeof the lawn inwards. In this nozzle the casing 42 is given an orifice 43which is one half of a full orifice as illustrated and designated 4 inFIG. 2. A one half valve stem 44 containing a deflection head 45 adaptedto co-operate with the orifice 43 is mounted in the casing by anysuitable means, such as a press fit. The portion of the deflection headabove the orifice 43 has an undersurface which is composed of a halfconical shaped undersurface 47 and a semi-annular chamber 48.

A sprinkler nozzle of the nature disclosed herein will increase the areaof coverage for the same water flow. It is also possible to use a nozzleaccording to this invention to spray less than one half inch per hourwith substantially less water flow than is possible on the same areawith nozzles now in use.

While there has been illustrated and described preferred embodiments ofthe present invention, it will be understood by those skilled in the artthat various modifications may be made therein without departing fromthe spirit and scope of the invention.

I claim:

1. A sprinkler nozzle comprising:

(a) a casing;

(b) an at least partially, clover-leaf shaped orifice in one end of saidcasing;

(c) a valve stem extending through said orifice and being mounted insaid casing; and

(d) a deflection head integral with said valve stem and overlying theend of said casing containing the cloverleaf shaped orifice in such amanner so as to cooperate with said clover-leaf shaped orifice todeflect water coming through said orifice;

(c) said at least partially clover-leaf shaped orifice being operable todirect liquid flowing therethrough generally against said deflectionhead, with the de' flection of said liquid by said deflection head beingoperable to form a spray pattern having a generally and at leastpartially polygonal periphery.

2. A sprinkler nozzle according to claim 1 further comprising:

generally annular chamber means formed in said deflection headsurrounding said valve stem, and positioned generally in the path ofliquid flowing through said at least partially clover-leaf shapedorifice and toward said deflection head, said chamber means beingoperable to contain a body of liquid; and a spray patterned-definingoutlet defined at least in part by said deflection head, disposedcontiguous with and in substantially unimpeded fluid communication withsaid chamber means;

said at least partially, clover-leaf shaped orifice being operable totransmit a flow of said liquid against said body of liquid contained insaid chamber means, with said body of liquid in said chamber means beingoperable, with relatively low frictional impedance, to deflect fluidflowing through said orifice directly into said outlet means.

3. A sprinkler nozzle according to claim 1 further comprising:

two concentric annular chambers formed in said deflection head,surrounding said valve stem, and positioned generally in the path ofliquid flowing through said at least partially clover-leaf shapedorifice and toward said deflection head, said annular chambers eachbeing operable to contain a body of liquid; and

a spray patterned-defining outlet defined at least in part by saiddeflection head, disposed contiguous with and in substantially unimpededfluid communication with said annular chambers;

said at least partially, cover-leaf shaped orifice being operable totransmit a flow of said liquid against said bodies of liquid containedin said annular chambers, with said bodies of liquid in said annularchambers being operable, with relatively low frictional impedance, todeflect fluid flowing through said orifice directly into said outletmeans.

4. A sprinkler nozzle as defined in claim 1 wherein:

said orifice in said one end of said casing has scalloped sides whichintersect to form inwardly jutting points towards the centre of saidorifice, with each such scalloped side being an arc of a circle oflesser diameter than a diameter of an imaginary circle, thecircumference of which touches said jutting points; and

said deflection head completely closes one half of said orifice andoverlies the other half of said orifice in such a manner so as tocooperate with said orifice to deflect water coming through saidorifice.

5. A sprinkler nozzle according to claim 4 further comprising:

at least one semi-annular chamber formed in the half of said deflectionhead overlying said orifice and dis posed directly above the half ofsaid orifice not closed by the deflection head; and

a spray patterned-defining outlet defined at least in part by saiddeflection head, disposed contiguous with and in substantially unimpededfluid communication with said semi-annular chamber;

said scalloped sided orifice being operable to transmit a flow of liquidagainst a body of said liquid contained in said chamber, with said bodyof liquid n said chamber being operable, with relatively low frictionalimpedance, to deflect fluid flowing through said orifice directly intosaid outlet means.

6. A sprinkler nozzle comprising:

(a) a casing;

(b) an orifice in one end of said casing having scalloped sides whichintersect to form inwardly jutting points towards the centre of saidorifice, each scalloped side being an arc of a circle of lesser diameterthan a diameter of an imaginary circle, the circumference of whichtouches said jutting points;

(c) a valve stem extending through said orifice and being mounted insaid casing; and

(d) a deflection head integral with said valve stem and overlying theend of said casing containing said orifice in such a manner so as toco-operate with said orifice to deflect water coming through saidorifice;

(e) said scalloped-sided orifice being operable to direct liquid flowingtherethrough generally against said deflection head, with the deflectionof said liquid by said deflection head being operable to form a spraypattern having a generally and at least partially polygonal periphery.

7. A sprinkler nozzle according to claim 6 further comprising generallyannular chamber means formed in said deflection head, surrounding saidvalve stem, and positioned generally in the path of liquid flowingthrough said scalloped-sided orifice and toward said deflection head,said chamber means being operable to contain a body of liquid; and

a spray patterned-defining outlet defined at least in part by saiddeflection head, disposed contiguous with and in substantially unimpededfluid communication with said chamber means;

said scalloped-sided orifice being operable to transmit a flow of saidliquid against said body of liquid contained in said chamber means, wthsaid body of liquid in said chamber means being operable, withrelatively low frictional impedance, to deflect fluid flowing throughsaid orifice directly into said outlet means.

8. A sprinkler nozzle according to claim 6 further comprising:

two concentric annular chambers formed in said deflection head,surrounding said valve stem, and positioned generally in the path ofliquid flowing through said scalloped-sided orifice and toward saiddeflection head, said annular chambers each being operable to contain abody of liquid; and

a. spray patterned-defining outlet defined at least in part by saiddeflection head, disposed contiguous with and in substantially unimpededfluid communication with said annular chambers;

said scalloped-sided orifice being operable to transmit a flow of saidliquid against said bodies of liquid contained in said annular chambers,with said bodies of liquid in said annular chambers being operable, withrelatively low frictional impedance, to deflect fluid flowing throughsaid orifice directly into said outlet means.

9. A sprinkler nozzle comprising:

a deflection head;

at least partially annular chamber means formed in said deflection headand positioned generally in the path of liquid flowing toward saiddeflection head, said chamber means being operable to contain a body ofliquid;

a spray patterned-defining outlet defined at least in part by saiddeflection head, disposed contiguous with and in substantially unimpededfluid communication with said chamber means; and

orifice means operable to transmit a flow of said liquid against saidbody of liquid contained in said chamber means, with said body of liquidin sad chamber means being operable, with relatively low frictionalimpedance, to deflect fluid flowing through said orifice means directlyinto said outlet means.

10. A sprinkler nozzle comprising:

(a) a casing;

(b) an annular opening in one end of said casing adapted to form anorifice;

(c) pins with tapered ends projecting slightly into said annularopening, said tapered ends being parallel with the axis of said casingand jutting inwardly towards the centre of said opening to give saidopening a scalloped effect;

(d) a valve stem extending through said annular opening and beingmounted in said casing; and

(e) a deflection head integral with said valve stem and overlying theend of said casing containing said annular opening in such a manner soas to cooperate with said opening to deflect water coming through saidopening;

(f) said scallop-effect opening being operable to direct liquid flowingtherethrough generally against said deflection head, with the deflectionof said liquid y said deflection head being operable to form a spraypattern having a generally and at least partially polygonal periphery.11. A sprinkler nozzle according to claim 10 further comprising:

generallyannular chamber means formed in said deflection headsurrounding said valve stem, and positioned generally in the path ofliquid flowing through said scallop-elfect opening and toward saiddeflecti n head, said chamber means being operable to contain 10 fluidflowing through said opening directly into said a body of liquid; and

outlet means.

a spray patterned-defining outlet defined at least in part by saiddeflection head, disposed contiguous with and in substantially unimpededfluid communication with said chamber means;

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS said scallop-effect opening beingoperable to transmit 15 1 880 880 10/1932 Dietsch 239 515 a flow of saidliquid against said body of liqui 2562503 7/1951 Megan 239 515 containedin said chamber means, with said body 2'924394 2/1960 Clark 239 515 ofliquid in sad chamber means being oper bl wit 3207446 9/1965 Dyck"uwfluuu 239 515 relatively low frictional impedance, to deflect fluid3275248 9/1966 i gg z 239 515 flowing through said opening directly intosaid out- 20 6/1910 Taylor uh-- let means. l 12. sprinkler nozzleaccording to claim 10 further g ii zi 239 601 3,207,446 9/1965 Dyck239515 two concentric annular chambers formed in said defiection head,surrounding said valve stem, and positioned generally in the path ofliquid flowing through said scallop effect opening and toward saiddeflection head, said annular chambers each being operable to contain abody of liquid; and

25 EVERETT W. KIRBY, Primary Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 239-518, 524

